Shakespeare in the Park Provides Comedy and Tragedy

In 2011, the 17^th year of Wooden O’s Shakespeare in the Park, Artistic Director George Mount decided to take Islanders from the height of hilarity with “The Comedy of Errors” done vaudeville style, to the creepy villainy that is Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.”

“In one summer people will see the breadth of what Shakespeare can show us,” said Mount, who is also directing The Comedy of Errors. “From spooky, intense, murderous and bloody to a comedy so light and funny there’s almost no substance to it.”

Mount notes that he already directed Comedy of Errors on Mercer Island during the second year of Shakespeare in the Park.

“We did it as vaudeville then, with songs, slapstick comedy, ventriloquists and escape artists,” he said. “We’ve brought back those songs composed for the 1995 production, as well as the original composer and actors, so for me, it’s nostalgic.” 

There was also a note of nostalgia in Mount appearing before the City Council to make sure the funding for Shakespeare in the Park .

“I had just finished grad school and noticed that there was only music, (), so I approached the Performing Arts Committee, (which became the ) who got behind adding a Shakespeare play as part of Mostly Music—we broke off as our own group a few years later,” he said. “Then when there was talk that the funding would be cut for us, there were a number of people who got up to speak on behalf of keeping Shakespeare in the Park, and how important it is for the community to have access to free cultural events, so the City voted to keep funding for us… I am eternally grateful to them for keeping us going.”

As of 2007, Wooden O Theater became part of Seattle Shakespeare Company, allowing them to do Shakespeare in the Park all over the Puget Sound area.

The Comedy of Errors

July 7-August 7, 2011

By William Shakespeare | Directed by George Mount

Two sets of long lost twins unknowingly cross paths, and set the stage for an evening of mistaken identity, mixed up confusion and mayhem! This comic masterpiece is full of slapstick and sight gags, puns and pratfalls. Keeping track of which twin is which is only half the fun, as Shakespeare also stacks the deck with some of his most outrageous characters, including a jealous wife, a seductive courtesan, a hapless old man seeking his sons, a zany conjurer attempting an exorcism, and even a nun who’s not all she seems to be!

Starting 5 pm on July 7 in and 7 p.m. on July 9 at Amphitheatre

Macbeth

July 10-31, 2011

By William Shakespeare | Directed by Tim Hyland

Ambition, power and the corruption of the soul are at the center of this moody and unsettling play. A driven warrior and his scheming wife unleash forces they cannot comprehend or control in their quest to control the throne of Scotland. Urged on by the prophetic double talk of a trio of macabre witches and determined hold onto the crown even at the cost of everything around them, Macbeth and his lady sink into a world of paranoia, murder and madness.

Starting July 10 at 5 pm in Mercerdale Park and 7 pm July 17 at Luther Burbank Park Amphitheatre